The Houston Texans have had little trouble rolling over a couple of overmatched opponents in the first two weeks.
It would seem they'll get a much stiffer test in their third game with a date with an old adversary, but with the way Peyton Manning played last week the Texans could be poised for another lopsided victory.
Houston tries to open with three wins for the first time in franchise history Sunday when it visits the Denver Broncos and Manning, who is looking to bounce back from a forgettable performance.
The Texans are first in the NFL in total defense (196.0 yards per game) and scoring defense (8.5 per game), but that shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering their first two opponents were Miami and Jacksonville. They forced four turnovers in Ryan Tannehill's debut in a 30-10 win over the Dolphins in Week 1 and allowed a franchise-low 117 yards in last Sunday's 27-7 victory in Jacksonville.
Houston, the only NFL team to open 2-0 in each of the last three seasons, expects a much greater challenge this time around.
"These two are behind us, and it's time to start looking forward,'' said Houston coach Gary Kubiak, who backed up John Elway with the Broncos from 1983-91 and later worked on Denver's staff under Mike Shanahan. "We know we've got a huge test coming down there, with Peyton leading the way for them and the type of player he is."
The type of player Manning is, however, isn't completely clear.
After throwing two touchdowns and finishing with a 129.2 passer rating in leading the Broncos to a 31-19 victory over Pittsburgh in Week 1, Manning had three interceptions in the first eight minutes of Monday night's 27-21 loss to Atlanta. The NFL's only four-time MVP insists the picks were because of poor decisions and not his surgically repaired neck.
